Online shopping is vital these days, for consumers and for businesses alike. You know - all that virus madness.
Whether you are starting out with an eCommerce business, or looking to turn your bricks into clicks, creating an online shop does not have to be daunting.
We have put together some of the things you should be thinking about when you are planning an eCommerce store for the first time:
eCommerce FAQs
what is eCommerce?
eCommerce is the idea of selling goods and services online. An online store has the ability to supplement your physical store or stand on its own.
why is eCommerce important?
With $6.1billion dollars in total online spending in 2024, New Zealanders are more online than ever, and since the pandemic, have been leaning even further into buying local with 72% of that being spent with online retailers.
Consumers expect convenience and availability, especially Gen Z and Millennial audiences. If you want your consumer brand to survive long-term, you need to be online.
which eCommerce platform is the best?
There are eCommerce solutions out there that allow you to manage your products and inventory, ship items to customers, and receive and manage your payments in the same place.
Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento are such solutions. It requires some serious thought to choose a platform. We help clients pick one based on their requirements - based on the number of products they have and the flexibility in design and integrations they need.
things to think about before launching your online shop
Now that the basics are out of the way, let's jump into some thought starters.
We've put together a bit of a checklist of things to think about before you launch your online shop:
Products
One of the first things to think about is what you even want to sell online. Your products are the star of your online shop, so it pays to think about your offering first.
How many products do you want to launch with? Try to avoid having too small an offering when launching your online store – your customers want to be able to shop similarly online as they do in-store.
What are your product categories? How do you want to organise products within the categories (e.g. by colour, size, brand)? Your customer needs the option to browse through your categories or narrow their searches to find something specific.
How many items of each product do you have? Make a plan for how to handle stock if there are simultaneous purchases online and in-store. You don't want to run out of stock two weeks after launch.
Do you have product images and descriptions? Maybe even videos? Your customers are more likely to interact with (and subsequently buy!) from your site if they can have near to the same experience as touching, smelling, and holding the product in-store.
fulfilment
You have organised your products and are ready to start selling – what happens when an order is placed, and how will you ensure it reaches your customer?
Which shipping service are you going to use?
How are you going to process orders with the shipping service? To avoid any shipping headaches, we would recommend integrating your eCommerce platform with your shipping service of choice.
How long will it take for the orders to get to customers?
How are you going to handle shipping costs?
How about shipping locations – are you aiming to ship exclusively around New Zealand, or are you wanting to expand into international markets? If you are wanting to branch out overseas, remember to think about international shipping fees, taxes, and any legal requirements in your chosen countries.
payment options
When buying online, customers are rightfully becoming more cautious about who they give their credit card details to and how these details are stored.
It’s a good idea to purchase a security certificate (which places the padlock in your browser) to show your customers that your website is secure and their personal details are being safely encrypted.
As well as traditional payment gateways that allow credit card payments, you can add options such as PayPal, AfterPay, or LayBuy, or think about accepting online bank transfers from customers.
brand & design
The reputation of your brand extends well past your homepage on an eCommerce website. Consider how you are presenting yourself to your customers and what your customers would expect from shopping with you.
Think about creating the look and feel of your brand – whether your style is bold and colourful or simple and clean. Your customers will relate to you if they can identify your brand personality.
Keep in mind that your shop's design needs to be easy to navigate, clear and structured to convert users.
What do you want your photography to look like? Product imagery (as we have already discussed) is an essential element of your eCommerce website. Make it special!
The brand experience doesn't stop with the purchase. The "un-boxing" experience is part of it too! If your brand prides itself on sustainability, you could send your products in compostable or recyclable packaging. If customer service is your thing, you could include a handwritten note thanking your customer for their purchase.
customer care
One thing hasn't changed with the world moving online: Customer service is still make-or-break.
What is your return policy? How would customers be able to return purchases? Are there any time frames or additional shipping costs that they need to know about? Don't forget to put all this in your Terms & Conditions.
How can customers get in touch if they have questions? You could think about live chats, consultation calls or the classic email contact form.
Do you want to introduce a loyalty scheme? Giving your customers rewards and loyalty benefits to your eCommerce store is a good way to encourage customers to purchase again and make your customers feel like they matter (because, they do!).
generating traffic
Just creating an eCommerce store won't get you sales. You'll need to develop a strategy to get people to visit your online shop.
What are your goals and how are you going to measure them? Consistent reporting is the way to go!
What is your marketing plan? Channels you use could be Search Engine Marketing, social media, email marketing, or a mix of everything. It all depends on where your audiences hang out.
What are you going to do on those channels? Put together a calendar with marketing activities to keep you on track.
Getting started
Hopefully this has given you a bit more understanding on how to set up and start managing an eCommerce store. If you’ve got any questions, give the hairyLemon team a bell and we’ll be happy to talk you through some great eCommerce options for your business.